Fourteen years ago, on the banks of Craving’s Creek, Ryde swore to his best friend Alistair he’d never be alone in the world. Though Alistair was destined for the priesthood, there was something beyond holy about the first kiss they shared. But a fun camping trip went horribly wrong when Alistair was involved in a horrific incident. Now, at age thirty-one, Ryde’s life is a mess of alcohol and the painful imprint of his last look into Alistair’s desperate eyes. Since the evil they encountered on that shore, his first love has been lost to him ... until he learns a friend’s wedding is to be officiated by a priest named Father Alistair Genet. Amid the rush of emotions, one thought crystallizes: Ryde’s love for Alistair has never died. It’s stronger than ever. But can it win over the repressed memories slowly tearing Alistair’s mind apart?

Craving's Creek

“Isn’t it?” Father Masson asks, and I know he knows it was me.


A gust of cold air sweeps into the warm entrance behind me. Someone has opened the front door. “Frau Eberhart,” Alistair calls out happily, somewhere close, so very close to me. The door slams shut. “I got you those sugar cookies!” He sounds like a child calling out to his mother.


I’m frozen still, out of Alistair’s sight, but within his earshot. I stare at Father Masson, suddenly terrified. I can’t be here. I can’t meet Alistair yet. “I can’t,” I mouth to the old priest. “Please. I can’t.”


Father Masson searches my face for an answer to my strange behavior, but finally understands and quickly pulls himself out of his chair, hurrying to the entrance. I see him walk by with Alistair under his large arm, obstructing Alistair’s view of me. He shoots me a quick look.


Chapter 41